


A Tradition Upheld

by dontblink12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Flashbacks, Gen, Not Really Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 14:17:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4103929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontblink12/pseuds/dontblink12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus takes a ride in a very familiar train car on his way to teach at Hogwarts. He meets a group of kids who make memories come back to haunt him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tradition Upheld

He instantly knew it was a mistake. 

But when did he ever turn away from a bad decision? Growing up with James and Sirius as best friends didn’t allow him to make good choices.

The halls outside of the car were loud as usual, children laughing, and the quiet question repeated like it had been twenty years ago-“Any candy from the trolley?”

But the silence in the car-it was louder than anything, almost deafening to the man who sat uncomfortably on the seat’s edge.

It was the scratches on the seat across from him that threw him back the twenty long years. They were just twelve that year, proud of the fact that their friendship had lasted over the summer. James had borrowed some knife from a half-blood who went to visit Muggle family and was gifted with it. They took turns cutting the fabric of the seat, swearing that this car would be theirs for the seven years at Hogwarts. The four sets of initials stared back at Remus now, haunting him worse than the curse he was inflicted with.

He knew it was a mistake.  
But he couldn’t give up a chance to sit in their car again.

Slowly, he let himself fall asleep on the seat, curling up into a corner against the window, just in case someone else decided they would sit in the car. Even when he was miserable, Remus couldn’t help but be thoughtful of others.  
He could feel sleep creeping up, about to overtake him, when he heard a strong set of laughter come closer than the other sounds. He heard the door to his car open, and three distinct voices tumbled in, laughing amongst themselves. He was taken back to all of those trips he spent, trying not to encourage Sirius in his affinity for bad jokes, hiding smiles behind his hand or the roll of his eyes.

They stopped when they saw him lying there.  
“Who the bloody hell is that?” A boy asked.  
“Professor R.J. Lupin.” A girl replied in a smug voice.  
“How is it that you know everything? Harry-” The boy responded.  
“It’s on his suitcase, Ronald.” The girl said, but her answer was lost to Remus, as he was replaying the last thing the boy said. Harry. The name shot through him like a spell to the heart, but he willed himself to stay still. Harry had to be a somewhat popular name. There was no reason to work himself up now. The memories of the car were making Remus act more emotionally than usual. 

Ronald spoke again, “Why is this bloke in our car? Everyone knows this is the one we always take.”  
“Ronald, in order for that to happen, you would have had to been here on the train rather than flying your father’s car over all of London,” the girl fired back.  
“One time, Hermione. One time. And besides, this is the car we used all three times on the way back from Hogwarts. So give me a bloody break, would you?”  
“It doesn’t matter, everywhere else is full.” The other boy-Harry-spoke, and his voice awoke memories that Remus had buried for thirteen years. “Do you think he’s really asleep?” Harry asked the other two, quieter than before.  
“Yes, he looks to be. Why?” Hermione answered, confusion evident.  
“Because I need to tell you both something.” Harry must’ve turned away, as his voice was quiet and the door to the car began to close. 

The young boy instantly began describing some strange adventure of his over the summer. Remus didn’t pay attention to the words, simply letting the voice of a long-forgotten friend wash over him. It wasn’t until Harry mentioned him-the traitor… But no, even to this day, Remus couldn’t call him that. No matter what the Ministry reported, Sirius could never betray James, not after seven years of Christmas’s at the Potters, and birthday presents from James’s mother, and the kid broom that Sirius spent hours debating over, with Remus a shadow at his side, making sure that this present would make Harry love his Uncle Sirius even more. 

The next sentence out of Harry’s mouth confirmed what Remus hoped… And feared… Harry was the Harry. Harry James Potter. 

That second, he knew that teaching at Hogwarts would drag him into the world he swore he would leave behind when he got the news of his best friends’ deaths. 

But he couldn’t let anything happen to the one thing that Lily and James had left in this world.


End file.
